雙語財經新聞 第43期:再見,豪宅
How big is your ideal home?
Does somewhere between 1,400 and 2,600 square feet sound right? That was the answer given by more than half of those who responded to a recent survey from real—estate site .
面積在1400到2600平方英尺（約130平方米到242平方米）之間的房子夠理想嗎？超過半數的人在房地產網站近的一項調査中給出了肯定的答案。Trulia points to this information plus data from the National Association of Home Builders and the U.S. Census, among others, and wonders is the McMansion Era Over?
根據這一信息，以及來自全美住房建築商協會、美國人口普査局等其他機構的數據，Trulia發出了這樣的疑問:豪宅時代結束了嗎？
It increasingly seems like that’s the case. As we’ve written before, the American love affair with massive and mass-produced luxury homesis fast coming to a close. The average home size peaked at 2,521 square feet in 2007. Home size came in flat in 2008 and fell in 2009 as builders built smaller, less ornate1 homes priced lower to compete with foreclosures2.
現實情況看上去越發像是那麼回事。正如我們之前討論過的，美國人與規模龐 大、批量生產的豪宅之間的愛情故事正在迅速消散。美國平均住房面積在2007年達到了2521平方英尺(約234平方米)的峯值。2008年住房面積沒有變化。2009年，隨着 開發商建造出售價更低的面積更小、裝修也更簡潔的住房來和那些喪失抵押品贖 回權的拍賣屋競爭，住房面積開始縮小。In a WSJ story in November, Michael Phillips looked at the luxury home business and found that many builders were scaling back, “struggling to distinguish among what home buyers need, what they what they want and what they can live without 一 Jacuzzi by Jacuzzi, butler’s pantry3.”
在《華爾街日報》去年11月份的一篇報道中，邁克爾?菲利普斯觀察了當時的豪宅產業，發現許多開發商正在縮減豪宅的規模，“他們千方百計地去分辨什麼東西 是購房人需要的，什麼是他們想要的，以及什麼是他們沒有也可以將就的——是否 要配備Jacuzzi豪華浴缸，是否要設計配膳室，一樣一樣地認真考慮。”One builder in the article spent months trying to figure out what features luxury home buyers are willing to give up. What’s out: Jacuzzi tubs, curved staircases and two-story foyers. Must-haves: a downstairs powder room, a garage that fits at least two cars, granite countertops in the kitchen and four bedrooms.
文章中提到的一位開發商花了好幾個月的時間，試圖想清楚什麼東西是豪宅 買家願意放棄的。結果是，Jacuzzi浴缸、螺旋式樓梯和兩層高的寬敞門廳可以不要， 但一樓的盥洗室、容納至少兩輛車的車庫、鋪設有花崗岩檯面的廚房和四間臥室卻 是不可或缺的。Yep, four bedrooms. Clearly, Americans still want their space. We don’t expect a great mass of people to join the Tiny House movement anytime soon and live in an 89-square-foot structure like this guy.
沒錯，四間臥室。很明顯，美國人還是希望擁有自己的私人空間。我們預計大多數人都不會很快加人蝸居大潮，像這個人一樣住在89平方英尺(約8平方米)的房子 裏。This Kyoto home featured in today’s WSJ is just 640 square feet. There are no closets, no television and guests sit on the floor and the family of four who lives there shares a sleeping room. Sound appealing?
《華爾街日報》一篇報道中提到的這間位於京都的房子只有640平方英尺(約59平方米),沒有儲藏室和電視，客人來了就坐在地上，而且四口之家共享一間臥室。 聽起來有興趣嗎？
